The Commissioner for Children has chosen to stay out of the controversy over protection of the unborn, saying the United Nations Convention on the Rights of the Child does not outline when life is considered as having started.

Pauline Miceli was answering questions from Times of Malta after a newly-formed group of doctors against abortion called on her to take “an unequivocal stand to protect the unborn child”.

About 670 doctors, including President George Vella, joined forces to form a group called Doctors for Life last month to declare their stand against abortion, insisting life starts at conception.

They challenged the Commissioner to “fulfil her statutory role and unambiguously state her position in defence of the life of the pre-born child”.

The Office of the Commissioner for Children was set up in 2003 to promote the welfare of children in compliance with the Convention, ratified by Malta in 1990.

The UN Convention on the Rights of the Child is a human rights treaty which sets out the civil, political, economic, social, health and cultural rights of children.

Asked on her position by Times of Malta, Ms Miceli said the Convention was vague on the definition of “child” and it referred only to the age of 18 as the point when children are no longer considered as minors.

The Convention does not outline when life is considered as having started, she said, and despite 30 years of discussion on the issue, the matter had not yet been resolved.

“There are those who believe the child starts enjoying rights at conception, others say at some point throughout the pregnancy and others when the baby is born. The Office believes it should not be part of this controversy and follow the Convention.”

She also referred to the rules outlined by the International Court of Justice. “On the issue of which life should be protected, whether that of the pregnant girl or the baby that is growing inside of her, the International Court of Justice states that [the life] of an adolescent girl is above anything else,” Ms Miceli said.

Her office, she added, insisted on the importance of sexual and reproductive education “from a young age” and this should be mandatory in order to avoid such situations.

“Apart from this, the services provided to pregnant children and their families should also be strengthened.”

Last month, the Commissioner said in a statement that unborn children should be better protected by introducing better antenatal health and social services and stronger family units rather than through changes to the law.

“Heavy-handed approaches which risk making the pregnant woman feel like or actually reduce her to the status of a quasi-surrogate mother are not conducive to the child’s best interest,” her office declared.